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SELF-PUBLISHING: MAKING LITERATURE BETTER!

Geri Clouston
    "Self-Published Authors Are Destroying Literature" cried one blogger recently. And he is not alone in his thinking: the vast majority in the traditional publishing world agree with him. But while this view is an over-simplification of a complex issue, there is a bedrock of truth beneath this topsoil of hysteria.The literary world is undergoing an upheaval unequalled since the invention of the printing press. For nearly five hundred years following its first appearance in the fifteenth century, only those authors whom the gods of publishing deemed worthy ever saw the fruit of their labors printed, bound and made available to the reading public. And while the appearance of so-called 'vanity presses' in the mid-twentieth century made it possible for others to have their books published, the enormous expense associated with this approach placed it beyond the reach of all but a privileged few. However, the advent of print-on-demand technology in the late 1990's changed everything, and from that point on nothing will ever be the same again in the world of book publishing.The good news is that now literally anyone can publish a book. The bad news is that now literally anyone can publish a book. And the…

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The Self-publishing World , ,

IndieBRAG Virtual Blog tour!

Geri Clouston
    Traveling the country to make appearances and doing book signings is just not economically feasible for most of us today. On top of the cost, most self-published authors aren't able to get into many books stores. A blog tour enables an author to reach out to their fans through a different blogger for a certain number of days. These varied and different bloggers speak with the author and review their books; in some cases they offer book giveaways – all from the comfort of your home and computer! Today we begin our very first indieBRAG Blog Tour. Bloggers will be visiting with Paula Lofting to discuss her book Sons of the Wolf. Each day a different blogger will share their discussion with Paula and their thoughts on her wonderful book (a B.R.A.G.Medallion Honoree!). Without getting out of your PJ's or kicking off your bunny slippers, you can visit with Paula and become a fan, leave your thoughts on the discussion and order a book! How easy and how much fun is that? An author gets the opportunity to meet their fans and gather their thoughts, reaching many more readers than they could by spending thousands of dollars traveling…

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The Self-publishing World

Saving Halloween – Lisa Ard

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview: Lisa Ard Read more about B.R.A.G.Medallion Honoree authors at: www.layeredpages.com Stephanie: Author Lisa Ard is a children's book author AND avid reader, stay-at-home mom, part-time business consultant, school volunteer, library board president, Sunday school teacher, book club member, chauffeur, volleyball coach, wife and mom, not necessarily in that order. She lives in Portland, Oregon. Lisa, congrats on winning the BRAG Medallion. Please tell me about your book, "Saving Halloween." Lisa: "Saving Halloween" is a magical story about discovering one's true family. Anne Hudson meets a very unusual friend and through their friendship, she learns what she needs and she goes after it. Her journey is not without bumps in the road, and the path is not always clear – magic plays a part in that! I hope readers enjoy the deception within the story – in what characters say, do, even in their names. Book Blurb:When book-smart Anne Parson meets Halloween Spavento, she sees exactly what she wants to see — a friend. Halloween wave's away trouble, magically silences school bullies and offers Anne unfailing friendship. But, when the Spavento family's enchanting exploits are exposed, will Anne face her fears and save Halloween? A spellbinding tale of outcasts…

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Authors' Chat

Writing for the Reader and Not Writing to Sell to the Reader (Or, How I Fought the War with the Amazons and Won!)

Geri Clouston
More from author Jim Musgrave- When I wrote my first historical detective mystery, Forevermore, I had a clear goal in mind: I wanted to write the best story for my reader to enjoy. This is the goal of every independent author out there, and the reason I want to communicate this fact of indie publishing is that many of the "big publishing houses" are not publishing the best stories for their readers. Please allow me to elucidate. I have been published by a big publisher. It was called "Harcourt-Brace," and it was the small professional arm of the corporation, "AP Professional Press" that published my book, The Digital Scribe: A Writer's Guide to Electronic Media. Notice the quaint reference to "electronic media." Back in the late nineties, we were still bedazzled by the newness of digital technology and its "multimedia" aspect. Today, digital multimedia is part and parcel of most of the "packaged novels" that get submitted by the big agents out there. They've already looked ahead to all the money to be made on movies, computer games, translations, Chinese edited versions, ads on the walls of urinals, and on and on with the corporate merchandising aspect of business. This…

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Words of Wisdom , ,

Don’t Confuse Independent Publishing with Self-Publishing

Geri Clouston
  by Jutdith Briles - The Book Shepherd   Indie, Independent and Small Press Publishing Are So, Soooooo Different from Self-Publishing, Vanity Presses and Pay-to-Publish "Publishing" I've said it once, I've said it a zillion times: yes, dear author-to-be (and those already published), there is a difference between self-publishing, vanity presses, pay-to-publish, a small press, and independent publishing. Don't mix them up. Don't get confused. Use Wikipedia as an initial guide: "The terms "small press", "indie publisher", and "independent press" are often used interchangeably, with "independent press" defined as publishers that are not part of large conglomerates or multinational corporations. Defined this way, these presses make up approximately half of the market share of the book publishing industry. Many small presses rely on specialization in genre fiction, poetry, or limited-edition books or magazines, but there are also thousands that focus on niche non-fiction markets." Did you read that? One-half of the market share of the book publishing industry! Doyou understand what it says/means? It means most authors today whose objective is to be successful create a small or independent press. They create their own "imprints"—publishing houses only on a mini scale. Authors find that books breed books, more will come.…

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Words of Wisdom , , ,

What is a Virtual Book Blog Tour?

Geri Clouston
  It is a wonderful way to meet an author and find out about his or her book from the comfort of your home without having to go to a book signing! It is also a way that an author can reach a much larger audience without traveling across the country with a pile of books in tow. In the case of indieBRAG's first Blog Tour, Paula Lofting, author of Sons of the Wolf, will spend 10 days visiting with a great group of bloggers. They will interview her and review her book, which is one of our B.R.A.G. Medallion Honorees. In some cases, they will offer giveaways as well. If you have already read Sons of the Wolf, you will enjoy getting to know Paula. If you haven't yet read it, I am sure you will want to after hearing more about it on its blog stops. Sons of the Wolf is the featured book on the homepage You will be able to follow the tour daily from the B.R.A.G. Blog Tour Page.  Have fun and be sure to let us know what you think-

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The World of Reading , , , ,

Harlequin Fail

Geri Clouston
Joe Konrath kindly permitted us to share this article with you that he posted on his blog in 2012. It is a great follow up to Bob’s May 28, 2013 post on indieBRAG’s Blog Harlequin Fail This is a guest post by my friend Ann Voss Peterson. But it's more than that. It's a call to arms, a cautionary tale, and a scathing exposé. Don't believe it can be all those things? Read on... Ann: In this world, there are a lot of things I can't afford to do. A trip around the world, for instance, although it would be amazing. Remodeling my kitchen. And until recently, sadly, braces for my son. There's one more thing that I find valuable and enjoyable that I can no longer afford to do, and that is write for Harlequin. I published my first novel with Harlequin's Intrigue line in August of 2000. My twenty-fifth was released in November, 2011. I had a lot of fun writing those books--taut, page-turning, action-packed romantic suspense staring a myriad of different heroes and heroines and a boatload of delicious villains. I had four editors during that time, and all of them were great to work with. The…

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The Self-publishing World

Liars, Leeches, and Other Losers

Geri Clouston
 To all you eager, new―and as yet unknown―authors who have finally finished your manuscript, welcome to the world of publishing, where dreams come true, and fame and fortune are only a book tour away. Or perhaps not! Let me see…how do I break this to you gently? Not one single literary agent will have anything to do with you. At most, your query letter will trigger a form rejection response as cold and pitiless as an IRS audit notice. And you can forget about sending your manuscript to any of the Big Six publishing houses. To them, you are lower than rust on the third rail in the subway, and equally untouchable. However, I doubt that these brutal facts will deter you from pursuing your dream, nor should they. So as you embark on this journey, let me just share with you a few words of caution about the liars, leeches and losers who populate the world of publishing. Let’s start with the first group of liars―your friends and family―albeit well-meaning ones. In your heart, you know that you have not written the next great American novel but you still think your book is pretty good. Damn good in fact!…

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The Self-publishing World , , , ,

Promote your latest book with a book trailer

Geri Clouston
   Words of Wisdom from Chris Robley at BookBaby- People love short videos. They're easier to watch and easier to share, and that makes them easy to talk about. One of the most fun, creative, and effective ways you can promote your new book on blogs and social media is by shooting (and then sharing) a book trailer– a video advertisement for your book similar to a film or TV trailer.Here are a few things to keep in mind when you're developing your book trailer ideas. 1. It's gotta be good!There are a lot of crappy book trailers out there. And to the big, bad, scary world of publishers, editors, critics, and agents, a crappy book trailer looks worse than NO book trailer at all. So if you're going to do it, it's worth doing right. The better your video, the more likely fans will share it, bloggers will post it, and critics will take notice.That being said, quality and budget are not always directly proportional. It's quite possible to shoot a great trailer yourself with consumer-grade gear and a little old fashioned elbow grease. Likewise, you can hire the world's most talented production team with all the fancy new…

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Words of Wisdom , , , ,

Kiss Her, Kill Her – Lisa Dewar

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview: Lisa Dewar Read more about B.R.A.G.Medallion Honoree authors at: www.layeredpages.com Stephanie: I would like to introduce Lisa Dewar, author and winner of the BRAG Medallion. Lisa has worked for over twenty years as a sales and marketing manager in the information technology sector.  She lives in Alberta, Canada with her husband, Wayne, and their two cats.  When not working or writing, Lisa seeks out animal adventures around the globe.  Lisa, congrats on winning the BRAG Medallion. Please tell me about your book, "Kiss Her, Kill Her." Lisa: The novel is about a serial killer who is trying to kill more women than Ted Bundy to impress his Bundy-obsessed mother.  But when a young woman gets in his cab and confesses that she wants to commit suicide, he wants to bring her back from the brink of death to heighten the enjoyment of killing her. Stephanie:  What inspired you to write this story? Lisa: After watching too many hours of the news, I kept wondering if serial killers could be molded from birth or if they were simply born that way.  Kiss Her, Kill Her explores that idea. Stephanie:  Were there any challenges? Lisa: My biggest challenge is finding…

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